The building blocks of sustainable communities: TUFFWOW and TVI’s ‘Project BRICK’

In the hands of Toledo’s United Farmers, Fishermen, and Women Workers (TUFFWOW), plastic waste collected from the community and fly-ash byproducts from a nearby power plant are turning into reinforced bricks now providing a steady source of income to many residents of Barangay Cabitoonan in Toledo City.

Initially launched as Project BRICK, or Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities, the grassroots community enterprise has grown into a full blown EcoBrick Hub producing eco-friendly and high-value bricks and pavers since 2022 in collaboration with Therma Visayas Incorporated (TVI), a subsidiary of Aboitiz Power Corporation (AboitizPower). 

An effective waste management initiative

Together with technical partner Green Antz Builders, Inc., which supplied the eco-brick model and training of TUFFWOW members, TVI and AboitizPower brought new innovations and machinery to the hub. The Ecobrick uses coal ash byproducts freely provided by the power plant and plastic waste collected from the community to produce bricks and pavers. Seeing the program gaining momentum, TVI implemented the “Basura Mo, Bigas Ko” campaign to speed up collection, encouraging the community to gather and trade at least two kilograms of plastic trash for every kilogram of rice.

TUFFWOW Liaison Officer Manny Ducor shared, “Ang livelihood namin, meron kaming ecobrick. Gumagawa kami ng mga bricks at hollow blocks na may halong mga plastic, atsaka yung mga common na materyales sa paggawa ng hollow block. Dahil diyan, ang aming grupo ay nagkaroon ng sustainable na kita sa paggawa ng ecobricks atsaka yung sa hollow blocks. Sa ngayon nga, meron kaming inventory ng more than 7,000 na ecobricks. Kaya dahil dito, malaki talaga ang naitulong ng TVI sa amin dahil wala naman kaming kapasidad na makabili ng mga gamit paggawa ng ecobricks.” 

(Our livelihood consists of ecobricks. We produce bricks and hollow blocks by blending plastic and other common materials. This allows our organization to generate sustainable revenue through the production of ecobricks and hollow blocks. Currently, our inventory consists of around 7,000 ecobricks. Therefore, TVI has greatly benefitted us, as we lack the capacity to produce ecobricks on our own.)

Sustaining livelihoods

So far, hundreds of TUFFWOW members benefit from the project’s profits. Manny expressed his gratitude when he said, “Isa lang ang masasabi ko sa TVI, ang pasasalamat ko sa kanila ay abot langit kasi kung wala sila, hindi kami makakagawa ng livelihood. Ito ang nag-sustento sa amin. Sana hindi magsawa ang TVI magbigay ng tulong.” (I can only say one thing about TVI: my gratitude towards them is boundless because, without them, we wouldn’t be able to create a livelihood. This is what supports us. I hope TVI never gets tired of giving help.)

In light of Project B.R.I.C.K.’s success in facilitating sustainable livelihood and infrastructure developments in its adopted communities and the long-term viability of eco-bricks and eco-pavers, other local government units are considering implementing a similar program in their own communities. 

ADVT. 

This article is brought to you by TUFFWOW.